The port-city of Lapithos is a major trading hub for Amisos kingdom. It has easy access to many essential resources such as wheat, timber, fish, iron, tin and coal. Due to its geographical location, it can export goods by land or by sea. It even traded with the Athenite Empire to the North up until a few years ago when diplomatic relations broke down. This is all according to what Selene told me.

Normally, I wouldn’t really care about such details, but my situation is very different now. Every step I take has to be done with caution. The reason is simple; I don’t know who my enemies are but they know me. They have the resources to hire trained assassins and were brazen enough to attack Amisos Magic Academy just to get me. It’s impossible that those were ordinary kidnappers. It’s likely they have the support of nobility or some military faction. Someone like that won’t leave me alone just because I managed to evade them once.

We arrive at the city in late afternoon. It’s heavily fortified and probably has a sizable army. However, the situation inside is deteriorating. We questioned one of the soldiers I defeated during the ambush earlier today. He confessed to helping bandits rob people in exchange for a cut of the profits. It seems a lot of the city’s soldiers are overworked, underpaid or both. I feel a bit sorry for them, but I don’t have the time to worry about other people’s problems right now. He should be thankful his life was spared.

The first thing I do inside the city is buy a cloak with a hood. This will help me hide my face in case there is anyone here who knows my true identity. Next, I visit an information broker that Selene recommended. I’m told there hasn’t been anything too unusual happening in the capital. There was an attempt to burn down a government building and a library but nothing beyond that. This is surprising. News of an attack on the Magic Academy should have reached here by now. Either my enemies are more dangerous than I thought or something strange is going on.

I spend the night at an inn while Selene stays at the Warrior’s Guild place. The next morning she visits me to deliver news.

“Hostilities near the border have stopped for now. I will be on standby inside the city. What will you be doing?” she inquires.

“Maybe I’ll sell some of my things at the Magic Guild. Other than that, nothing in particular…” I answer with a dejected attitude.

“Um, if you’re interested, I know a job that will get us some quick money.”

“A job?”

“You said you can use earth magic, right? A mine near the city is in desperate need of earth mages to help them maintain their aging structure. They will pay in coins at the end of every day.”

“Do you usually do these kinds of jobs?”

“Only on occasion. My mother is always telling me to keep the fighting to a minimum… So, are you interested?”

“I suppose it’s fine to give it a try. Lead the way.”

We leave Lapithos and walk half a kilometer before reaching the mine. It’s basically just a hole in the side of a hill on the outskirts of the city. At the entrance we meet the lookout, someone who watches over the operation. He makes sure random people or thieves don’t enter the mine and also checks the stuff that is excavated. There are no others guards. They must be short-handed or they decided more security isn’t necessary here since it’s so close to the city.

“I’m from the Warrior’s Guild. The person with me is an earth mage.” Selene introduces us.

“Ah, finally. We’ve been searching for weeks now. The tunnels are starting to fall apart. Progress has been slow without a mage to help out.”

“That’s what I’m here for. Can you show us where to start?”

“Sorry, can’t leave my post right now. Follow the tunnel and take a left at the first turn. You’ll find the rest of my boys. They’ll be happy to point you in the right direction. Thanks a lot for your help.”

The lookout shakes my hand with enthusiasm. We do as he says and head inside. The dark, winding tunnel is illuminated by small mana crystals placed every 10 meters or so. At the place mentioned earlier, the left tunnel is illuminated while the right one isn’t, making it obvious which way to go. We find two miners who are pushing a wagon full of rocks and minerals. Further inside, a few others are busy digging. I explain what my role is and they point to a few areas where there are cracks in the walls. They instruct me to use the spell ‘Harden’ to fix them, not that I needed such advice. Selene grabs a pickaxe. We each have our roles so we get to work.

Working in a mine is interesting in its own way. Well, actually it’s tedious to just point my hands at a wall and chant the same spell over and over, but to me this is a new experience. I don’t know much about mining and, being a curious person, I’m always ready to try new things. As I do the job, I also test the walls by sending waves of mana through them. The reactions tell me basic things like the density of the rock up to a few meters deep and whether or not there are mana sources. For some reason, a few areas show no reaction at all, as if they are hollow. If I focus, a faint sensation, almost like a pulse, can be felt through the rock. Fascinating.

“Are you done over there? We need your help.” Selene calls me.

“Yes, it should be fine. Let’s go.”

The two of us go further into the tunnel. Our footsteps echo as we walk. Oh, that’s a curious smell. Is that… cinnamon? No, it smells like freshly baked apple pie.

That’s one of my favorites. Aunt Dimia used to make it long ago.

She was great. Talented at cooking, talented at magic… Even my mother was jealous of her, though she would never admit it.

She also introduced you to the Tale of the Black Rose and told you about Nashira, didn’t she?

Nashira Malik, there’s a name I haven’t thought about in a while. The legendary Chaos Mage who revolutionized magic. Why bring her up?

Apparently some bad stuff is happening and she’s involved.

That can’t be right. She died over 300 years ago.

It seems like she’s waiting for something, but I don’t know what... Oh, there are some people lying on the ground over there.

They must be really tired.

No, they’re just dead. By the way, why are you talking to yourself? It’s creepy.

“Dion!”

Selene gives me a hard slap on the cheek. Her other arm is being held by me and she looks worried. About 15 meters further down where the tunnel narrows and ends, a group of people dressed in miner’s clothes are lying on the floor. They are in awkward positions, as though they dropped whatever they were doing and collapsed on the spot. Pieces of rock and minerals are scattered around the area. Sticking out of the tunnel wall is a chunk of shiny, red mineral with an eerie glow. Suddenly, my thoughts clear up and my muscles become so tense that they hurt. I finally understand the situation. This is bad.

“We need to leave. Now!”

Without looking at her, I pull Selene’s arm and run in the other direction, pulling her along. I keep running until I exit the mine. I’m out of breath and my head hurts. The lookout man is staring at us like we’re crazy. He might not be far from the truth.

“What’s going on? Why did we have to run out?” Selene demands with a frustrated expression.

“That was Bloodstone! They must have dug into a vein of that stuff.” She looks confused by my answer. I turn to the lookout. “Why didn’t you tell us?”

“T-That can’t be. There’s no Bloodstone here. We made sure the mine is safe.” He has a pale face and stutters.

“Take a look for yourself then. Don’t blame me if you die.”

He hesitates for a moment, then nods and ventures into the mine while calling for the other workers. Selene approaches me as he leaves.

“Bloodstone is dangerous, right? What does it do?”

I begin explaining to her. The rare mineral ‘Bloodstone’ was named for its color. It disrupts mana and causes it to go out of control, making it lethal to all living creatures and particularly to mages like me who have more mana than normal. Little is known for certain because it’s rare and extremely dangerous to study. Just inhaling a bit of Bloodstone dust can have life-changing consequences. The symptoms vary based on the dose received and can take a few days to appear. They range from vomiting and fatigue to blindness and organ failure. At high doses, the effects are immediate. The body will literally start to boil from the inside. It’s not a pleasant way to die.

There is no way to cure Bloodstone poisoning. All we can do is minimize contact with it. The dust is particularly frightening because you can inhale it without realizing. That is why I panicked and ran out of the mine. Selene and I probably received minimal exposure since neither of us went near the source. My mana feels stable right now, but we won’t know for certain until a few more days passed. The other workers are beyond help.